It was roughly 24 hours ago when Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut raised a new concern about his colleague, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Members were preparing for a classified briefing on the Israel-Hamas war, and Blumenthal questioned whether Menendez, who was recently indicted on multiple felony counts, should receive the sensitive information.
He wasn’t alone. “Hey, I have a question for a friend,” Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania jokingly asked Capitol reporters. “If someone has been accused of being a foreign agent for Egypt, should they be allowed to attend a classified briefing on Israel tomorrow?”
Evidently, Senate leaders had related concerns. Politico reported:
Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez will not attend a classified briefing on Israel this week, according to Chuck Schumer. The news comes after Menendez was hit with a foreign agent charge last week, adding to other earlier charges.
The report added, “The question of whether Menendez should have access to classified information has lingered over the Senate since his indictment last month. But a charge alleging he acted as a foreign agent for Egypt carries new implications for national security.”
There’s some question as to whose idea it was for Menendez to miss the intelligence briefing. A Washington Post report added, “Schumer’s office would not say whether the leader had asked Menendez not to attend or whether Menendez is barred from all such gatherings in the future.”
Menendez has denied any wrongdoing, and he pleaded not guilty in court in late-September. The Justice Department announced new charges against the New Jersey Democrat last week, accusing the senator of accepting bribes on behalf of a foreign government and acting as a foreign agent, even while leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
To be sure, whether Menendez is able to participate in a classified briefing might seem inconsequential, but there’s a broader significance to the developments: If there are national security concerns surrounding a senator receiving intelligence about an ongoing crisis, it raises the volume on the conversation about whether that senator should remain in office.
Last week, Fetterman became the first sitting senator to raise the prospect of expelling Menendez. “We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate,” the Pennsylvanian said in a statement. “This is not a close call.” Fetterman added, “It is time for every one of my colleagues in the Senate to join me in expelling Senator Menendez.” For now, while most of the Senate Democrats have called for Menendez to resign, but there has not yet been a groundswell of support for kicking the indicted senator out of the chamber. As we discussed last week, to expel a sitting senator would require two-thirds support in the chamber — and a 67-vote majority is a high hurdle that would require significant Republican support. To date, GOP senators have resisted calls for Menendez’s ouster.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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